Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) - Participation support
Program highlights
- Access participation support of up to $5,000 to remove practical barriers that might otherwise prevent you from attending a conference, symposium or workshop in your field.
- Use the grant to cover eligible travel, childcare, or accessibility-related support costs, including travel for an accompanying carer where there is a clear demonstrated need.
- Make attendance possible without having to absorb the extra costs that come with caring responsibilities or accessibility needs.
The Australian Academy of Science invites applications from Australia's early- and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) to access participation support grants valued at up to $5,000 each, funded by the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) or TMIA.
The Participation Support grant is intended to assist Australian EMCRs who face additional barriers to attending a conference, symposium or workshop in their field of research due to caring responsibilities, accessibility needs, or mobility-related support.
Funding can be used to pay for travel costs to attend an event or to cover expenses associated with caring responsibilities, such as childcare. Funding can also be used to support travel costs for a carer to accompany the EMCR either to assist the EMCR directly or to care for their dependants. Applicants should only request support for carers or dependants where there is a clear and demonstrated need, as eligibility and alignment with the grant’s purpose will be carefully assessed as part of the selection process. The intent of this funding is to enable equitable access by removing practical obstacles that might otherwise prevent participation.
Applications should be for confirmed activities occurring within 12 months (January to December 2026). After the application submission deadline, the Academy will perform an eligibility check and use a computerised random draw generator to select application numbers based on available funding and proposed budget amounts.
Key dates
Below are the key dates for the application process. While we aim to keep to this schedule, some dates may change depending on circumstances.
GUIDELINES
The following guidelines provide important information about eligibility, submission requirements, and assessment processes. Please review them carefully before submitting an application.
To be eligible to receive a Participation Support grant, applicants must:
- be less than 15 years post PhD, excluding career disruption or barrier*
- be a member of an Australian EMCR group, such as the Australian Academy of Science’s EMCR forum
- be currently residing in Australia and be either an Australian citizen or hold a valid Australian visa
- not have received a Participation Support grant in the 12 months prior to the application date
- be employed at an eligible Australian research organisation as outlined below.
Eligible research organisations:
- Australian tertiary education institutions (as per the Higher Education Support Act 2003)
- Australian cooperative research centres
- publicly funded research agencies
- Australian state and territory funded research organisations
- Australian public research companies
- Australian private research companies
- Australian not-for-profit research organisations
- other Australian incorporated entities.
*Career disruption or barrier: A career disruption or barrier is an interruption that has caused prolonged impact on a researcher’s capacity to conduct high-level research in the period since the conferral of their first PhD.
It may be due to reduced opportunities for research which may be due one or more of the following: prolonged absences due to unemployment, childbirth, carers’ responsibilities, limited or no access to facilities and resources, disaster management and recovery, medical conditions, disability or accessibility needs, community obligations, including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultural practices and protocols.
An additional 6 months (pro rata) can be applied for each year of eligible career disruption to account for the time it takes to reestablish research after a period of extended leave.
Eligible applications must:
- be able to outline the need for additional support to attend an event or activity
- outline the funding requested in accordance with the funding limitations outlined in the ‘Terms of award’ section
- provide supporting documentation outlining the confirmed event or activity as specified in the application form.
Applications are welcome from EMCRs in all fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Successful applications will receive an offer of funding from the Academy towards the cost of attending an event or activity that will support research advancement or provide professional training, where otherwise the EMCR would not have been able to engage in the event or activity.
Terms and conditions of the grant are below, and the acceptance of these conditions is required at time of application submission.
- Funding can only be used to cover eligible expenses as approved in the application.
- Awardees must notify the Academy immediately if there is a change in circumstances that will prevent them from attending and/or engaging in the event.
- Wherever possible, steps should be taken to mitigate the risk of loss of funds through cancelled arrangements, and any unspent funds must be returned to the Academy.
- Unless otherwise approved by the Academy, a limit of one (1) accompanying carer is permitted, per application.
- The Academy will reimburse the cost of attending the conference or event upon receiving the expense documentation, not exceeding the approved amount.
- Successful applicants will be required to accept a Participation Agreement prior to the grant award.
Eligible expenses
- Direct travel costs within the below limits per each expense type: - Airfare for economy class flights up to $1,500 per person on domestic or international flights - Accommodation expenses up to $250 per room, per night, for a maximum of five (5) nights - Other direct travel costs approved by the Academy, such as train and bus fares, taxis, ride share or other local transport – up to $50 per adult, per day, for a maximum of six (6) days. Please note: this item limit does not apply to additional transport costs associated with accessibility needs.
- Childcare expenses, such as: child centre fees, out of school hours care fees, private childcare expenses, or other direct childcare costs. Please note: this item is only valid for expenses charged by a business or sole trader; funding from this expense type cannot be claimed for informal care providers.
- audio visual services, including online streaming services
- Accessibility expenses, such as: travel costs for an accompanying carer, costs associated with specific or additional transport needs, or other expenses to directly support accessibility needs approved by the Academy.
- Conference or event participation fees.
Ineligible expenses
- Food, medical and other personal expenses.
- Research expenses.
- Salaries.
- Institute overheads, managerial and administrative costs.
Submit an online application on the Academy’s grant portal when the round is open, and attach the following documents.
- Applicant’s CV.
- Confirmed activity supporting documentation (such as, an event brochure or registration website).
Applications will be assessed for eligibility by the Academy. Eligible applications will be selected for funding by a computerised random selection generator based on proposed budget and available funding.
Successful applicants will be required to submit a report one month after attending the event or activity to provide feedback on how the grant enabled their engagement and participation. The Academy will provide reporting template to the awardees.
Acknowledgement and use of assets
It is a requirement that any publication or media release resulting from the activities funded by this program duly acknowledges the support of the Australian Academy of Science and the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia).
Applications are to be completed through an online form found by clicking on the Apply button on the top right of this web page when the round is open.
Past participants
Read more about the TMIA program and past activities on the related TMIA project page.
The Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) program is supported by the Royal Society.
